Seeking Advice
by Kristen3
Summary: When Rhoda spots Bess at Mary's door, she learns that the child needs help with a boy problem. But how will Phyllis react upon learning that Bess confided in Rhoda rather than her own mother? One-shot.


Rhoda opened her refrigerator and sighed. It was practically empty. Then she remembered she had planned to go grocery shopping last night, but she ended up having a date. Of course it hadn't gone well. She was getting pretty tired of the "let's just be friends" speech. She had enough friends. What she wanted was a husband.

But, husband or no husband, she still needed to eat. She grabbed her purse and car keys, walking out of her small apartment. She made her way down the stairs to Mary's apartment. To her surprise, she noticed Bess standing there, trying to open Mary's door. "Bess, what are you doing here?"

Bess turned upon hearing her name. "I just wanted to see if Aunt Mary was home..." She looked at the ground, embarrassed.

"Mary's working late tonight. I think WJM is doing some kind of documentary. What did you want to see her for?"

"Well, it's sort of about a boy," Bess said. "And since she was so nice that time I wanted to know about love and stuff, I thought I could talk to her again."

Something in Bess' expression softened Rhoda. Bess might be Phyllis' daughter, but Rhoda tried not to hold that against her. "Well, why don't you come up to my place?" Even as she asked the question, Rhoda couldn't believe she was saying this.

"No, it's OK, Aunt Rhoda. Phyllis doesn't really want me visiting you."

Rhoda rolled her eyes. Phyllis tried to control her daughter's every move. Suddenly, she realized she and Bess really weren't all that different, at least in some ways. "Don't worry about your mother," Rhoda said. "I can handle her."

With a shrug, Bess started up the stairs to Rhoda's apartment. Rhoda followed, quickly unlocking the door. "Make yourself comfortable." She gestured to her kitchen table, which was also the only table she owned. As much as she loved having Mary as a friend and neighbor, sometimes she still wished she'd gotten the bigger apartment.

Bess took a seat at the table, still clearly nervous about being up here.

"Well, I would offer you something to eat," Rhoda said. "But I don't really have much. Would you like a glass of milk?" She had no idea what to do with kids, but then again, Bess was practically an adult anyway.

"No, thanks. I'm not hungry right now."

"Wow, I don't think I've ever said that," Rhoda joked. When she saw that Bess didn't even smile, she took the other seat at the table. "What's bothering you?"

"Well, there's this boy I like at school. His name's Tommy. You know how Phyllis is always reading these books and talking about how a woman shouldn't be afraid to make the first move?"

Rhoda nodded, although she did her best to tune Phyllis out most of the time.

Bess continued her story. "I finally worked up the nerve to ask him to go to a movie, but he said he already had a girlfriend. And she's in high school!"

"Ouch," Rhoda said, knowing all too well how Bess was feeling. "Well, I can't give you one of Mary's pep-talks about how you'll meet the right person someday. But I can tell you you're not the first person to go through this."

"You mean you have?" Bess asked, surprised.

"Yes. Many times. Unfortunately." An involuntary sigh escaped as she thought about her recent dates.

"So what am I supposed to do? I really liked him, and I sort of thought he might like me too."

"I know how that feels. Right now, I know it feels like you could never go through this again. But it won't feel like that forever, and you'll probably find another boy you like. That may not work either. But, eventually, I'm sure some boy will see how nice you are, and all of this will be just a memory."

"Really?" Bess was actually beginning to feel hopeful about her future.

"Of course," Rhoda said, nodding.

"Thanks, Aunt Rhoda. You're the best!"

Before Rhoda could stop her, Bess got up and hugged her.

At that same moment, they both heard a voice from the hallway. "Rhoda, dear, have you seen….." Phyllis walked through Rhoda's beaded doorway. "Bess."

Bess looked at her mother, instantly feeling guilty. Not knowing what else to say, she managed a weak, "Hi, Phyllis."

"What are you doing here?!" Phyllis could hardly believe what she was seeing. Bess was up here in Rhoda's apartment, and, to top it off, she was actually _hugging_ Rhoda.

"I wanted to talk to Aunt Mary about something, but she's not here so….." Bess shrugged, knowing that there was no explanation that would make Phyllis happy.

"Look, Phyllis, it's no big deal," Rhoda finally said. "She was having a problem with a boy at school, but I talked her through it."

"YOU talked her through it?!" Phyllis could hardly imagine the sort of advice Rhoda would have given a twelve-year-old.

Bess looked from her mother back to Rhoda. She could tell an argument was brewing. "I think I'll go downstairs and start on my homework." She quickly left before anyone could stop her.

"I told you, this is no big deal. She was up here for five minutes. I couldn't have traumatized her that much!"

"But why wouldn't Bess come to me if she were having a problem? I am her mother, aren't I?"

"Yes, of course you're her mother," Rhoda said, rolling her eyes. "But…..maybe she didn't really feel comfortable talking to you. It was hard to even get her to tell _me_ what was bothering her."

The idea of Bess not talking to her made Phyllis a bit nervous. She had always gone out of her way to make sure her daughter understood that they had an open relationship, one where Bess would be free to discuss anything. That was what she had read in all of the parenting books that sat on her bookshelves. "Well," she finally said, "I'm glad my daughter was able to confide in you." But Phyllis' voice indicated she was actually anything but.

"Look, I didn't go looking for her. She wanted to talk to Mary, but she happens to be working late tonight. Would you have preferred I left her there, waiting hours for Mary to come home?" Rhoda was quickly losing patience with Phyllis, not that she'd had much to start with.

"I guess if Mary wasn't home, you were….the next best thing," Phyllis said. Once again, disdain was obvious in her tone.

"I don't have time right now to listen to your insults. I've got to get groceries. So, I'll tell you what I told Mary the first day we met: get out of my apartment!"

Rhoda's outburst took Phyllis totally by surprise. "Well, all right, Rhoda, if that's the way you feel. I'll just go back downstairs to my _loving husband_ and daughter." She offered a fake smile before turning to leave.

When Phyllis left, Rhoda breathed a sigh of relief. "I can't imagine having that woman for a mother," she thought out loud. "Poor Bess."

 **The End**


End file.
